WASHINGTON—The Danish government in recent days has privately sent a message to Donald Trump ’s team that Copenhagen is happy to negotiate military and economic deals related to Greenland, but it wants the conversations to take place behind closed doors.
Denmark isn’t looking to spar publicly after the president-elect insisted the U.S. must own Greenland, a Danish territory. Instead, Danish officials said, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member is looking to resolve Trump’s self-made crisis quietly, discussing with future U.S. officials how allied militaries could enhance their presence in the Arctic Circle and American companies could gain more access to Greenland’s resources.
The back channel shows how some of Trump’s declarations can turn marginal issues into an emergencies, even if the same results could be achieved through the regular diplomatic process. It also underscores how some countries are positioning themselves, by giving Trump concessions he might tout as victories but that fall short of his public demands.
“What we are saying is that this is not about a deal” to buy Greenland, said a senior Danish official. “But if you have any requests or asks for us to do more, let’s sit down and talk about it.”
The Trump transition didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Trump and his allies contend that the world moves too quickly for typical foreign-policy execution, which often involves government experts working with political appointees to provide the president with options. They prefer to take policy out of the hands of career government officials and leave it to Trump’s personal relationships and instincts.
Often Trump turns to berating an ally or adversary, hoping that drives his counterpart to negotiate over the issue at hand. Many foreign-policy experts say such an approach needlessly causes friction between the U.S. and its friends.
“He’s bullying allies because he thinks he’s going to have more success with that,” said Daniel Drenzer, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School.
Trump’s allies defend his style.
Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland.
“The rancor is actually beneficial because what it does is it moves the issue to front and center,” said Gordon Sondland, who served as ambassador to the European Union in Trump’s first term.
Axios earlier reported the private discussions between Denmark and the Trump transition.
Trump says the U.S. must control Greenland for national-security reasons, and he has refused to rule out using military force to seize territories or assets—including Greenland but also the Panama Canal—that he views as vital to U.S. interests. He is also threatening Denmark with high tariffs until it gives up the island.
One of his main concerns for the U.S. is China’s increased activity in the Arctic, where it has access to rare-earth materials that can power batteries and other technologies integral to the future economy. Trump also thinks that a stronger U.S. military presence in the region is needed to counter Russia’s ambitions there, people close to the president-elect said.
Sondland said that Trump’s boasts of buying Greenland are a part of a strategy for ensuring that China and Russia get less access to the Arctic region. “We need a much closer and, very importantly, an exclusive relationship with Greenland,” he said. “China and Russia do not get to play.”
Trump alluded to the idea during a press conference last week at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence and likely location of many future diplomatic engagements. “You have China ships all over the place,” he said. “You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen.”
The U.S. and Denmark already have decades-old defense agreements regarding Greenland that give the U.S. military extensive rights at America’s northernmost base on the island, Pituffik Space Base. The base, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, houses a radar station that is part of a U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system.
Denmark has also offered to expand its own military presence in Greenland to meet U.S. and NATO needs, Danish officials said.
Beyond routine maritime surveillance and island safety, there is already a Danish arctic command based in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. Denmark has a naval fleet experienced at navigating the area’s icy waters and military forces based on the Danish mainland that can quickly deploy to Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Copenhagen is also working on what it calls an “Arctic Package” for its next defense budget, officials said, which will increase Danish military assets in the Arctic and North Atlantic, including drones, radars and satellites.
“We have already made it clear that we are planning to do more,” said the senior Danish official.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s politicians say they would welcome more American investment in Greenland. The island’s own leaders have long said it is open for business—but not for sale.
In 2023, the European Commission found that 25 of 34 minerals considered “critical raw materials” for its own industries could be found in Greenland. However, the territory has many environmental rules to prevent drilling for oil and natural gas.
The question is whether Denmark’s offers of greater military collaboration and increased business activity will be enough to satisfy Trump, who has also called for turning Canada into the 51st state. Some of his top aides have started to soften their Greenland rhetoric.
Vice President-elect JD Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” this week that there was no need for military force to seize Greenland, noting U.S. troops are already on the island, but reiterated the need for the U.S. to have more access to the territory. Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, on the same day told ABC News’s “This Week” program “there are a number of things we can enter into to amend those existing agreements” with Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said Monday that the island “will decide what agreement we should come to.” But, he has said more than once, Greenlanders don’t want to become Americans.
